Going through Arica, it's impossible to ignore the War of the Pacific. This post-independance pitched battle between Chile, Bolivia and Peru happened in this area, and considerably influenced the future of those countries (especially Bolivia, which lost its access to the sea in the process). A long time after those event, in 1929, Chile finally gave back a little part of this region to Peru, including the city of Tacna, only 50km north of Arica. So close, it would have been dumb not going there...

And then as I was gathering information on how to get there and back, I discovered that a tiny train was still operating, a survival from the past that the Peruvian government tries to maintain, all the infrastructure belonging to Peru and the land on which are laid the rails in Chile being a perpetual grant. Cool, a train! :) It was too late to take it to go to Tacna, so more mundanely I found myself in a little rickety bus to cross the border.

Once there I had little time: the station opens 2 hours before the departure of the train, and only sells tickets for the same day. I got there just in time, grabbed my ticket and dashed into the city for half an hour. It seems that Eiffel had really a great influence in this part of the world, as the Tacna cathedral was also designed by him! Even the fountain on the square is of French inspiration...

Back to the station we still couldn't board in: we had to go through customs, and the officers weren't there yet. Looking out through a window I realized that the station on the track side was a real museum, and that there were plenty of old steam engines and cars! So as soon as the customs are open I quickly elbow my way through, and then run all over the place to take pictures, climbing on and getting in anything I can. :)

Barely 15 minutes later and we're on our way, in the noise of a tuberculous diesel engine and screechings of rust and dry metal. The inside of the railcar is up to the cars in the station: all in wood, and not too young (dates back to the 50s)! The only problem is that the windows are tiny, and it's almost impossible to see anything. But as usual I get acquainted with people, one of the other passengers happens to be the manager of the line, and a few minutes later I make myself cosy in the driver's cabin (excruciatingly noisy) talking about the line economics and the opportunities for service improvements! :D

I did almost the whole trip in the front row, making some people jealous in the back of the car, who couldn't join me to take pictures! :) In a day I went to Tacna and back, taking advantage of the occasion to finally take the train. And there's no contest, it's much funnier than doing it by bus!